For Lochlin Cravey, showing school spirit meant camping out next to Emerson Alumni Hall with pillows and blankets, lining up for a pancake breakfast and scoring a coveted “BEAT LSU” T-shirt Friday morning.
The wait, the 18-year-old exploratory freshman said, was well worth it.
Cravey was also front-and-center for an event celebrating the $46 million raised for UF President Bernie Machen’s Florida Opportunity Scholars program.
Lines of students wound around the building and down University Avenue as students waited for the 9:30 a.m. breakfast of pancakes, bacon, eggs and orange juice.
Although they arrived an hour before breakfast, biology freshman Yash Desai and journalism and psychology freshman Jeremy Minaya were stuck at the back of the line.
Still, the 17-year-olds said they were confident about getting shirts.
Emily Astrom, an 18-year-old mathematics freshman, said she waited for about 30 minutes, but said she didn’t mind it — the T-shirt and breakfast were worth it.
“It’s insane, but it’s awesome,” she said.
Tables with orange-and-blue tablecloths were set up throughout the alumni hall courtyard.
Albert the Alligator danced with students as “Gangnam Style” blared, hyping them up for Saturday’s match against Louisiana State University.
During breakfast, Machen spoke with students and donors, thanking them for raising money for the scholarship program. He said the money is used to pay tuition and living expenses for students whose families earn less than $40,000 a year and are the first in their families to go to college.
Machen’s wife, Chris, said the state’s best public university should have the best students, regardless of their ability to pay.
After the event, some students — still in pajamas — left carrying sleeping bags with BEAT T-shirts slung over their shoulders.
Morgan Cardon, an 18-year-old applied physiology and kinesiology freshman, said she didn’t expect so many people to show up to the event.
“I’m glad I stayed over,” Cardon said.
Lines of students wound around the building and down University Avenue as students waited for the 9:30 a.m. breakfast of pancakes, bacon, eggs and orange juice.
